How to discuss and debate an emotionally charged issue

Updated 1:40 am, Monday, March 25, 2013

It was the summer of 2009, and Americans were angry at President Barack Obama's proposed health care overhaul, now referred to as Obamacare.

They berated their congressional representatives on the economy, illegal immigration and the president's birthplace. It got ugly.

A writer for Politico noted that some found screaming into microphones therapeutic. Indeed, the summer of town hall meetings, including one at the Edgewood Fine Arts Academy, illustrated a desperate need for anger management.

As is the case at times, the young can teach us a lot about how to behave when discussing a divisive, emotionally charged subject.

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That's what happened late last week at Saint Mary's Hall, a preparatory school where annual tuition can cost more than $20,000.

The topic of “Issues Day” was “Affirmative Action: Accepted, Waitlisted or Denied.”

It was not the first time its ninth through 12th graders have taken on a tough subject. I've attended several sessions, where students have modeled how to debate sensitive, controversial issues without reaching 2009-style, town hall tempers.

First, they did their homework, reading several essays for and against affirmative action, a policy used by governments, employers and colleges and universities, among others, to try to reverse the results of the nation's legacy of discrimination and institutionalized racism.

The injured parties, historically, have been women and ethnic minorities.

Think Japanese interment in World War II and massive deportations of Mexican American U.S. citizens during the Great Depression. Think lynch mobs. Think beatings during the civil rights movement.

More recently, think of gerrymandered districts and voting laws meant to lesson the impact of minority voters.

Spurred by the civil rights movement, affirmative action has tried to level a playing field that continues to be uneven and difficult to navigate. For decades, women and ethnic minorities weren't even on the field.

At Saint Mary's Hall, students listened intently to moderator David Henderson, chief of the DWI Task Force in the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, who questioned four speakers: a Louisiana appellate judge, a Trinity University official, a University of California, Berkeley, professor and the owner of a firm specializing in workplace diversity.

Henderson then turned to provocative questions from students, some via an IssuesDay2013 Twitter account.

“What do you think about minority students that come from a wealthy background that are still favored by affirmative action?”

“How has reverse discrimination caused an imbalance and injustice in the system since the start of affirmative action?”

When asked whether they wanted to attend a college with a diverse student body, a majority of hands went up. The question remained of how to do it.

Students said they learned a lot.

“In government contracting, minorities weren't receiving contracts,” Paige Cheatham, 17, said. “A lot of our student body only thought it was used in college admissions.”

Hailey Boyan, 16, supports affirmative action because it might help her. She's biracial, has a disability and is female. She said, “Go me!”

“I'm not against affirmative action,” said Tristan Robinson, 17. “I'm against what it is right now.”

Peyton Morris, 16, agreed, “It needs reform. The way it is now is not the way it should be in current society.”

Before Issues Day, students could purchase T-shirts illustrating three potential outcomes of the argument: “Admitted,” “Waitlisted” or “Denied.”

Their sales didn't constitute a poll, school officials said, and no record was kept of how many of each was sold.

But several students said the least purchased was “Admitted,” followed by “Denied.”

Overwhelming, students chose “Waitlisted.”

Perhaps it's too optimistic to think it shows affirmative action has a future in the minds of these future leaders.